CX with Taryn
AAVC CX Scholarship winner Taryn worked hard all fall to improve her CX skills and things have really paid off for her as we head into the final MICX Series race on Sunday at CX-MAS in Ypsilanti…
Sometimes, all it takes is a little niggling guilt to motivate oneself to do something uncomfortable. For me, that guilt came in the form of a cyclocross scholarship. I know you're probably thinking this makes no sense, but hear me out.
By the time this scholarship was announced, I had overcome my reluctance to expose myself to the mental (not to mention physical) discomfort of taking on the intimidating sport of cyclocross. I'd attended CX PreX and already determined that as much as I hated each post-practice "race", I loved it in equal measure. The financially risk-averse and money-conscious part of me, however, wasn't sold.
But then, I heard about, and subsequently received (THANK YOU AAVC!) the CX scholarship, which would let me enter the whole MICX series for free. This meant that not only did I not have to feel guilty about spending money on racing, I had to feel guilty about NOT racing as much as possible. I had an incentive to race a lot and make use of the opportunity I'd been given to really try the sport out. What an opportunity it's been.
I've done three of the race days thus far. My first was the women's novice race at DICX. I'd never done a real cyclocross race before, and I think it showed for the first few laps. I was timid on the bike and embarrassingly awkward with dismounts and remounts (I still am). Once I started to settle in and get a feel for it, though, things got better. Coming from a background of long distance running, the aerobic nature of the sport, the calibration of energy expenditure, and all the gritting through tired legs were right up my alley. My goal going in had been to finish without crashing. I met this goal and ended up with a win. Then I came back for the sport race, which was exhausting but fun. And I didn't crash.
Next up was Montibeller. The course was fantastic with a single track segment in the woods and a creek crossing that had me reminiscing about cross country courses from my running days. I'd only signed up for the novice race but then regretted the decision and was allowed to sneak into the sport race last-minute.
Vet's Park followed, and I'm pretty sure it was the most technical of the courses to this point. I felt like points and pride were on the line during the novice race, so I was a real noob and dismounted before each sand pit section for fear of falling and having sandy disaster if I tried to ride through. The costume race finished off the day, and this was probably the most fun I've had on a bike in quite some time. Inspired by my tutu and leotard, I fearlessly (and incompletely) rode the sandpit each lap of that costume race. I also got beer handups, which was a totally new concept to me. Never has anyone offered me beer while in the midst of racing in a sporting event. Just goes to show how cool this sport is.
I'm planning to race CX-MAS this coming weekend. I'm worried my tires will be woefully inadequate if there's mud or snow, but I'm also approaching the race with the same philosophy I have all along: this is a chance to learn more bike handling skills and have fun competing. I'm coming to the race with a sense of gratitude for this weird sport that requires a combination of bike handling skills, technique, finesse (I have none), and just plain grit. Most importantly, I have so much gratitude for the community of people behind the sport. I've had such a wonderful time meeting and competing alongside supportive athletes who are part of a community of cyclists that week after week have made this little adventure into cyclocross a highlight of my fall.
To anyone contemplating giving cyclocross a try, I can't encourage you enough. It's unlike any other type of bike challenge I've encountered before, and there's something really tantalizing about that.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stay safe, ride on, and keep sharing those Strava kudos.
Taryn